Carl Sullivan is a 68-year-old gentleman from Las Cruces, NM who along with his wife of 37 years, Shelly, was recently diagnosed with COVID-19. Before he contracted the virus, Carl was a very active retiree who loved spending time with his large family of four daughters and nine grandchildren. He enjoyed fishing, hiking, and riding in his Jeep with his beloved dog, Zoee.
Carl and Shelly both experienced mild symptoms to start, but over a week’s time, Carl’s shortness of breath worsened, his fever spiked, and he began to shake. He and his wife knew it was time to call an ambulance. Carl was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for COVID, sepsis, and acute respiratory failure. He said that his prognosis was not looking good and that the team at the hospital were very worried for him.
After a week of treatment for COVID and being on very high oxygen, he became stable enough to be transferred to Advanced Care Hospital of Southern New Mexico (ACHSNM) for increased therapy and to help him wean from the high levels of oxygen he was requiring. Carl shared that he and his family chose ACHSNM because of other family members that had been with the hospital before, and the very positive experiences they had, which earned his family’s trust.
Upon arrival, Carl says that the team at ACSHNM gave him a renewed sense of positivity about recovery. He says that the entire staff cared and encouraged him. He says that his doctor always had a smile and took time to explain everything, answer questions and help him to understand each step of his care, while at ACHSNM.
After twenty days at ACHSNM, Carl was able to make enough progress to go home with home health services. He says that he is so excited to get a second chance at life, get back to the simple things like being able to care for and bathe himself, and to get back to spending quality time with his family, and of course, his dog Zoee.